Packaging wrapper



Sept' 19, 1950 G. w` GooDwlN 2,522,868

PACKAGING WRAPPER BM QVENTOR. l MMM Sept. 19, 1950 G. w. GOODWIN 2,522,868

PACKAGING WRAPPER Filed Dec. 2l, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 c l( 'xi 'H fg/, MMM@ Il k A BYMQAMM sept. 19, 1950 Filed Dec, 2l, 1946 G. W. GOODWIN PACKAGING WRAPPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PACKAGING WRAPPER George W. Goodwin, Shaker Heights, Ohio AppiicationDeceinber 21, 1946, Serial No. '717,634

(Cl. 22S-51) 1 Claim.

My invention relates to packages in general, and more particularly to packages having removable portions to expose the interior thereof.

In the art of packaging, substantial advances have been made to provide' single packages which are suitable to protect their contents until the time when it is desired to open the package, and which are thereafter easily opened, However, with goods which are desired to ce protected against the entrance of excess moisture, or the drying out of the contents, a double package is usually provided in order to adequately seal and protect the contents. For example, in the packaging of cigarettes, a paper and metal foil inner wrapper is provided to enclose the cigarettes, and an outer Wrapper of cellophane is provided to protect the cigarettes against change in moisture content.

In this type of packaging, in which two separate wrappers are used, no adequate or convenient method is available for the purpose of quickly opening the package to expose the contents. In roy illustration of the cigarette f cackage7 for eX- ample, an opening tape which encircles the cigarette package inside the cellophane package is shown with an end thereof protruding from the inside of the cellophane wrapper to the exterior thereof through the overlapping joining fold of the wrapper. By means ol this tape, a portion of the cellophane wrapper may be severed from the main 'cody of the wrapper, or in other words, the package is divided into two parts, by grasping the `end of the protruding tape and forcing the tap@ to cut a path around the wrapper.

However, after the cellophane package has once heen removed, the consumer is obliged to dig the inner package open as best he sees ut. Some people will cut the package longitudinally along the side and remove the contents `from the two resulting half packages. Others will remove the entire topof the package, or unfold the top fold and thus expose the entire contents of the package. However, by far the greater number of consumers tear out one half of the folded end and expose only four or live ofthe cigarettes. rlhis operation requires a considerable amount of time and trouble to insert the fingernail or a cutting tool into the fold on the end, and thereafter tear out an irregular patch on the end of, the package. The hole thus produced is usually quite ragged. The remainder of the cigarettes are then shifted to the hole thus produced.

Therefore, an object of my invention is to provide a package having a portion thereof removable by a single motion. l

Another object of my invention is to provide a package having a tab attached thereto, which tab may be pulled to remove a portion of the package and expose the interior of the package.

Another object of my invention is to provide a double wrapper package with the removable portions on each package, and the removal of one of said removable portions is dependent upon the other, whereby the said portions may be removed together in one operation. l

Still another object of my invention is to provide a strong tab adapted to ce folded into the end folds of a, package and denne a removable portion in conjunction with La portion of the end folds, with the edge of the tab serving to shear `the portion of the end folds from the remainder of the package.

Other objects and a fullerunderstanding oi my invention may be had by referring to the accompanying description and claim,` taken in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of an inner wrapper for a cigarette package in which the features of my invention are incorporated; Figure 2 is the reverse sido` of the wrapper illustrated in the Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line 3-3 of Figures 1 and 2; y

Figure 4 is a top view of the inner wrapper around a group of cigarettes before thc ends of the wrapper are folded; y

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 with one portion of the end folds folded;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional `View along the line t--t of Figure 5; Figure '7 is a, top View of the package with the ends thereof completely folded;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view along the line Emil of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along the line 3-9 of Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a greatly enlarged view illustrating the relationship of the inner package and the outer package with a portion of the outer package broken away to illustrate the positioning of the tab means therebetween;

Figure ll is a view similar to the Figure l0 with the outer package slit into two pieces and further illustrating the relationship of the inner package and outer package with a tab means disposed therebetween; and

Figure 12 is a perspective View of a pack of cigarettes after having fbeen opened by my improved opening means.

Although my invention will find equal application for many different kinds of enclosing packages, I prefer to illustrate and describe my invention in connection with a cigarette package. In reference to the drawing, in the Figures 1 and 2, I illustrate an inner wrapper I IJ. In the usual construction, this wrapper may comprise a paper, or a paper `and metal foil, or a metal foil. Therefore, throughout this description and claim, this inner wrapper III will be referred to as a sheet of foldable material. This sheet of material Iii is foldable into side sections and edge sections and end folds in the usual manner to enclose a group of cigarettes. Although the wrapper I is not normally folded before being applied to the group of cigarettes to be enclosed, I have illustrated the general areas along which the wrapper III will be folded by means of fold lines. The reference character II, for example, indicates the fold line between the end fold and the side and edge section, and the reference charactr I2 indicates the fold area between the side and edge section. Thus, when the inner wrapper I!) is folded as in the finished product, it will be folded substantially along the fold lines II and I2 as illustrated.

In the practice of my invention, I have found that the only step required to be done in addition to the steps normally taken by the industry in providing the standard wrapping as known today, is to apply a tab member l5 to the inner wrapper II! before the inner wrapper II) is folded to enclose the group of cigarettes. In the preferred embodiment of my invention. as illustrated, I employ a tab member I5 of commercial adhesve tape known as cellulose tape which I nd to be quite suitable, and in fact preferable for this purpose. Of course, any suitable tough material which might be readily secured to the inner wrapper and to an outer wrapper may be employed.

As illustrated in the Figures l and 2, the tab member I5 may be considered as having a first portion I3 secured to the wrapper I5, and having a second portion I4 extending from the wrapper IB. When cellulose tape is employed, the first portion I3 of the tab I5 may be secured to the wrapper I by the gummed surface provided thereon. Normally, no other securing means is required. In the illustration, I have shown the vlateral side edge of the first portion I3 as being spaced a short distance from the fold line II. This distance is quite satisfactory in actual practice, because the fold of the inner wrapper I 5 about the line II is actually a fold area and extends over a wider distance than the width of the fold line I I. However, the lateral side edge should preferably be placed as close as practicable to the actual division line between the side and edge sections and the end fold. Thus, when the wrapper I0 is folded to produce an enclosing wrapper, the first portion I3 of the tab I5 will be folded in with the end folds of the wrapper, and the longitudinal edge of the tab I5 will lie in close proximity to the actual fold between the sections.

The amount of the end portion which will be removed by the tab I5 is determined by the length of the first portion I3. Therefore-the entire top of the package could be removed by extending the first portion I3 of the tab I5 the full length of the inner wrapper I0. However, it is normally only desired that'the end portion be removed approximately in the area between the Government stamp which is normally placed upon the package and the fold line between the end and one side edge of the package. Thus, only four or ve cigarettes will be exposed at one time, and the remainder can be shifted to that hole as they are used. Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment of my invention, I have shown the first portion I3 of the tab I5 as extending over somewhat less than half the length of the inner wrapper I0. This length is just sufcient to extend around the described end portion when the Wrapper III is folded and the first portion I3 is folded in with the end fold. I refer to the section of the end fold and the first portion I3 as a removable package portion. This may readily be understood, inasmuch as the tab member I5 and the inner wrapper I0 are actually combined by the securing of the two members together to form the inner wrapper, and it is the tab member I5 and a portion of the end fold which are removed to expose the contents of the package.

After the wrapper I0 has been folded to enclose a group of cigarettes, the second portion Ill l'of the tab I5 will normally extend from the package. In order to fully illustrate the location of the tab member with respect to the remainder of the package, I have illustrated a progressive series of folding step illustrations in the Figures 4, 5 and 7, and have illustrated cross-sectional views through the Figures 5 and 7 as the Figures 6 and 8. The Figures 6 and 8 are provided to illustrate fully the interfolding of the first portion I 3 of the tab I 5 with the end fold of the wrapper. The Figure 9 is also provided to show this relationship. In the Figure 4, I show a. top vieW of the wrapper I0 as it appears wrapped about a group of cigarettes, but with the end fold portion unfolded. In this figure, it may be seen that the tab I5 extends inside the wrapper Il) from the lap of the wrapper I0 and around one edge of the package, but ends on the side opposite the lap side of the package at a point approximately opposite from the lap.

In the Figure 5, the edge sections of the end fold have been folded down upon the group of cigarettes. In the Figure 7, the end folds have been completely folded over the group of cigarettes, and the second portion I4 of the tab I5 extends from the folds exterior of the package. The Figures 6 and 8 illustrate the cross-sectional appearance of the tab I5 as it is folded with the end portion of the wrapper I0. Further, in the Figure 9, it may readily be seen that the first portion I3 of the tab I5 is folded at an angle when the edge portions of the end fold are folded down upon the group of cigarettes and therefore is able to continue along the fold line I I even when folded into the end fold of the wrapper.

As illustrated in the Figure 7, my improved package is operable and may be employed with no further addition thereto. However, in present day practice, a cellophane outer wrapper is provided in order to hermetically seal the contents of the package. This is done generally by means of a cellophane wrapper, such for example as the outer wrapper I6 illustrated in the Figures 10 and 11. In the Figure 10, I have illustrated the cellophane enclosing package as commonly used today. This package is illustrated by the reference character I6, and is provided with a well-known type cutting tape Il for the convenient removal of a portion of the cellophane package. In the Figure l0, the portion of the package above the cutting tape I1 is broken away to illustrate the relationship of the second portion I4 of the tab I5 with the inner package and the outer package, and with the Government stamp I8. In the Figures 10 and 11, as well as in the Figures 1 and 2, it will be noted that the tab I5 is looped back upon itself as it emerges from the fold of the folded end portion. The tab I5 is looped in this manner for convenience because nf the Government stamp I8. That is, the adhesive side of the tab I5 is indicated by the reference character I9, and it will be readily apparent, that the second portion I4 of the tab I5 could extend directly across the top of the package without providing the loop as illustrated, and the adhesive side I9 would be in proper position to be contacted by the removable section 20 of the outer wrapper I9. However, because of the general requirement in the United States for the Government stamp I8, a large por- On the other hand, by looping the y 20, and thereby produce a stronger bond with the 3,1,

removable section 20. When using cellophane tape, of course, the Government stamp will not be obscured because the tape is transparent. No special operation is required in placing the outer wrapper it upon my improved inner wrapper, bea.

cause the natural pressure used in wrapping and sealing the outer wrapper upon the inner wrapper will press the outer wrapper I6 tightly against the adhesive surface i9 and cause a tight bond to be formed therebetween.

When the consumer desires to open my im proved package, his first operation is to sever the outer package It into two portions by unwinding the cutting tape Il. Thus, as seen in the Figure l1, a portion of the outer package I6 is readily removed, or both portions may be removed if desired. However, as shown in the Figure 11, the top portion 26 of the package i6, which is tightly secured to the second portion I4 of the tape l5, cannot be removed from the package Without providing a substantial pull on the tab I5. As is readily apparent, therefore, the consumer, after dividing the package I6 as described, will give a sharp pull on the removable section 20 and consequently to the tab I5. turn, will cause the removable portion to tear away from the inner wrapper I0 along the line The tab I5 in o I I, and the opening operation will be complete, as illustrated in the Figure l2.

Although 1 have described my invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. i

What is claimed is:

An enclosing package comprising, an outer wrapper of synthetic resin, an inner wrapper, said inner wrapper comprising a sheet of material folded into side sections and edge sections and end folds, said sheet having a longitudinal fold line dividing the end folds from the side and edge sections, a foldable tab member comprising a ribbon having a first end portion provided with a side surface thereof adhering to an area of the synthetic resin outer wrapper and having a second end portion provided with a side surface adhering to a portion of said end folds and folded therewith, said first end portion of the tab member having an edge lying subtantially adjacent to the said longitudinal fold line, said portion of the end folds and the tab member secured thereto defining a removable package portion, said second end portion of the tab member extending from theedge of the end folds of the sheet of material externally of said inner wrapper in contact with the exterior of the inner wrapper, at least said area of said outer wrapper to which the tab member is secured being removable to expose said inner wrapper, the removable areaJ of the outer wrapper thereby serving as a grip member to pull the tab member and remove the removable package portion.

GEORGE W. GOODVVN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the i' file of this patent:

UNTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,785,639 Maurer Dea 16, 1930 1,957,903 Odell May 8, 1934 2,123,262 Townsend July l2, 1938 2,342,240 Bell Feb. 22, 1944 

